ran for six seasons and produced 121 groundbreaking episodes of television, but the series immediately found success as soon as its pilot episode aired. was appointment television that set new standards for serialized storytelling and dramatic mysteries, and the show is still a major influence on the medium more than a decade later. drew in viewers through its mysterious island, grander mythology, and non-linear storytelling that indulged in flashbacks, flashforwards, and even "flash-sideways." generated suspense in many diverse ways, but character deaths were always major events that would change the series' status quo.
One of 's most striking details was the massive size of its cast. Season 1 had more than a dozen characters, and each new year would bring more individuals into the mix. A huge cast and a dangerous island mean that many of these characters are destined to become casualties. is full of losses, and even its main cast isn't completely safe. However, some of these iconic deaths leave a greater impact than others.
's second season effectively expands its limited and restricted scope through
," 22 survivors who were on the rear section of Oceanic Flight 815 rather than the middle of the plane like Season 1's core cast. Michelle Rodriguez's Ana Lucia Cortez appoints herself as the Tailies' leader, and treats her like a counterpoint to Kate in the sense that they're both tough women with violent backstories that they've kept hidden. Ana Lucia was a cop in her pre-island life, and these authoritative impulses take over following Oceanic Flight 815's crash. For a moment, it looks like is setting up Ana Lucia to be Jack's romantic foil, but her story gets cut surprisingly short.
Ana Lucia attempts to resolve the Others problem, but when she's unable to shoot Henry, she offers her gun to Michael so he can finish the job.
Unbeknownst to Ana Lucia, Michael has his own ulterior motives to get back his son, Walt, which pushes him into a tenuous partnership with Ben Linus. Michael turns Ana Lucia's own gun against her and takes her life, just like he did with Libby. Ana Lucia's brash and disconnected nature made her a polarizing character who many fans weren't disappointed to see go, but her death is still significant, especially in regard to the dark path that Michael heads down.
Deaths seemed inevitable in , but the show's first season is so character-centric that everyone gets their moment in the spotlight. Fans started to wonder if this core cast would carry through to the second season and that the island's many mysterious dangers wouldn't actually cull the herd. The end of 's first season finally commits to casualties as Ian Somerhalder's .
effectively handles this gambit, and much of the first season creates the impression that Boone will be safe due to his status as John Locke's de facto sidekick. Locke and Boone collectively discover the unusual hatch that becomes the second season's early focus.
Unfortunately, Boone never gets to see what's inside this cryptic container due to his unexpected death. The survivors' early success on the island has a lot to do with Boone's contributions, and his surprise death showed audiences that no one is safe in this series.
It's perhaps fitting that the first two major cast members to die on
are Boone Carlyle and his step-sister, Shannon Rutherford. cast a wide net with its characters, and Maggie Grace's Shannon was initially a hard pill for many to swallow as her privileged and spoiled life before the island causes her to clash with many characters. However, a tender romance between Shannon and Sayid develops, which only makes Shannon's early passing harder to accept.
Shannon becomes a fairly random casualty who gets shot by Ana Lucia, who confuses her for one of the Others. Ana Lucia's accidental execution of Shannon helps reiterate that humans and their paranoia are a greater danger than any mystical island shenanigans.
Shannon dies just when her character starts to improve, and through much of 's second season.
's main cast members largely stick together during the earlier seasons. However, Harold Perrineau's Michael Dawson is forced to choose between his found family of survivors and his actual family when it comes to the rescue of his kidnapped son, Walt. is particularly tragic, and many audiences were expecting a cathartic reunion between this father and son by the end of the season.
What instead happens is that Michael becomes the Others' pawn as he desperately does whatever it takes to find Walt, even if that means the betrayal and execution of his friends. Michael's darkest acts are during 's second season, and the character returns during Season 4 in a selfless act that takes him out in one of 's most touching losses.
Michael detonates a bomb that's on the traveling freighter, and he perishes in the explosion, along with the rest of the boat, but he saves other beloved characters in the process, including Jin and Desmond. Michael's death is preceded by a brief glimpse of Christian Shepherd, who tells him that he's served his purpose.
Michael perishes in's fourth season, but he makes a surprise return during Season 6 as a ghostly apparition who haunts Hurley. Michael has one of the most complicated journeys in , and his tremendous strides to redeem himself and save his former friends make this abrupt martyr's death hit even harder. It's a difficult death to accept, albeit one that's for the greater good.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's during its second season. Eko emerges as a pious analog to Locke, who pushes the latter to experience a temporary crisis of faith. Mr. Eko becomes a fan-favorite character who audiences presumed would be along for the long haul. Instead, Mr. Eko's time on is cut short as he becomes an early Season 3 casualty and the first character who actually dies from the island's intimidating and enigmatic Smoke Monster.
Mr. Eko's journey is influenced by the residual guilt that he feels over his brother Yemi's death. Eko chooses to own his past actions rather than endlessly atone for them, which results in a deadly confrontation between Eko and the Smoke Monster, the latter of which has masqueraded as visions of Yemi.
Death is a constant in , yet few characters experience as brutal of an execution as Mr. Eko. It's a casualty that sticks with the audience and lingers throughout the rest of the season.
Juliet Burke doesn't appear in until the show's third season premiere, "A Tale of Two Cities," but she immediately becomes one of the series' most important characters as well as a sweet love interest for Sawyer as she helps sand down his rough edges.
Juliet gets introduced as one of the island's Others, which makes her transition to a bonafide main character all the more special. Juliet's major drive in the series is to just get off of the island. She may not accomplish this goal, but her final act does make success for everyone else possible.
Juliet builds a beautiful life with Sawyer, yet she remains loyal to Jack's plan to detonate the island's active hydrogen bomb, Jughead. Juliet gets stuck in the Swan hatch and is only left with a rock to strike Jughead and trigger its detonation. Juliet blows up Jughead, which is what triggers the final season's mysterious events.
This courageous decision is what both concludes 's fifth season and begins Season 6. Juliet becomes the ultimate martyr, and she's at least able to pass away in Sawyer's arms as she rests easy, knowing that her plan has worked.
who have experienced plenty of trauma and heartbreak before they even land on the island. After more than an entire season apart, Sun and Jin reunite in Season 6, but their reunion is short-lived.
Sun and Jin are both on Charles Widmore's submarine as it begins to sink. Jin has the opportunity to escape, but Sun is trapped behind metal bars and debris. Jin, rather than leave his wife behind again, stays with her as they both go down with the sinking ship.
Jin is actually presumed to be dead much earlier in the series during the tanker's explosion, which actually sends him to the past instead. Sun's time off of the island is largely driven by the loss of her husband, and her reason to go back to the island is fueled by her belief that Jin is, in fact, still alive. Sun is right, and while these two don't survive the series' events, they do at least get to go out together, holding hands, as a monument of their eternal love and everything that it's persevered through.
Jin and Sun's deaths are extremely emotional, even if they're casualties that Sun and Jin have a modicum of control over in their final moments.
Naveen Andrews breathes such life into Sayid, who experiences some of his best material in 's final season. . However, Sayid's efforts are in vain, and he becomes an unfortunate case study of the island's magical powers, particularly when it comes to Jacob and the Man in Black.
Sayid gets shot by Ben Linus' father, Roger, before he drowns in the Temple. This initial death doesn't last very long before the Man in Black resurrects Sayid as his zombie-like helper.
Sayid doesn't understand what's happening to him while he's in this condition, but a conversation with Desmond wakes him up to some extent and allows him to defy the Man in Black's orders. Sayid is able to rush the Man in Black's bomb to the back of Charles Widmore's submarine. It still explodes and takes Sayid out with it, but the noble act does buy some of the sub's passengers enough time to escape and survive.
Charlie Pace made a big impression on fans, and he, along with Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Locke, felt like the show's heart. Dominic Monaghan excels with Charlie's tortured past as and finally finds a sense of purpose on 's island. Charlie's death is one of the series' biggest moments, and it's even more surprising that it arrives so early in the show's run.
Charlie goes above and beyond when he swims to Dharma's underwater Looking Glass research station, disables its signal jammer, and follows through on Desmond's prophetic vision with Penny.
The Looking Glass station floods, but Charlie stays strong and uses his final moments to warn his friends that the ship that's about to make contact with them is "." This foreboding final message becomes a major turning point in .
Terry O'Quinn's John Locke was always one of 's most fascinating and fan-favorite characters. Locke's first flashback episode, "Walkabout," remains one of the series' strongest installments, which goes on to inform the character's painful, complex journey of faith, acceptance, and destiny.
Locke's time on the island is full of valuable self-reflection and insight, but he serves an even greater purpose during the Oceanic 6's time off the island when he adopts the alias Jeremy Bentham.
Locke/Bentham is the leading force in reuniting the Oceanic 6 and getting them to return to the island. Locke's mission is ultimately successful, but he meets his death before this trip and goes out at the lowest point possible. Lost in self-doubt and negativity, Locke considers taking his own life before his death is averted by Ben Linus' intervention. Linus has sinister motives and a fragile ego of his own, which pushes him to strangle Locke, and he makes it look like he took his life as originally planned.
This makes for an absolutely devastating blow for someone who's always been one of 's most inspirational and optimistic characters. Locke perishes in Season 5, but his body plays under the Man in Black's manipulation.
